Michael Bailey Media Studies Essay

Student No. 105513331

Question 3: Outline the Liberal and Marxist approaches to the media and assess which, if any, is, in your view, the most persuasive. I believe I should initially state that I have never been either a devote Liberalist or Marxist. Although I am swayed more towards the Liberalistic viewpoint, I see logic in both beliefs and can understand why both parties argue what they do. This is an ideal known as double think. Double think, according to George Orwell, is the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in ones mind simultaneously and accepting both of them.i Because of my individual views, I feel I can make an unbiased outlining of both arguments and assessment of which is better per say. I shall begin by summarising the Liberalists ideals and their approaches to media before continuing on to do the same for the viewpoints of Marxists. When delving into the history of Liberalism, its easy to initially see flaws in its ideals. At its inception and development from the 15th century onwards, it was nothing more than a justification for government intervention; probably the most famous case being the French Revolution. It wasnt for a few more centuries that the beliefs of the Liberalists began to slowly affect the media industry; an effect that would eventually shape the media industry into its near-free reign on information spreading. This effect is greatly described in James Curren and Jean Seatons Power Without Responsibility (7th Edition) as follows; During the second half of the eighteenth century and in the early nineteenth century, a section of the commercial press did indeed become more politically independent, partly as a consequence of the growth of advertising.ii To cut a rather-long history lesson short, from then on we saw both the media and Liberalism evolve immensely. However, as I previously stated, the flaws of the Liberalistic Beliefs can be seen from its historical development; or even from the history itself. Modern Liberalists would still argue, for the most part, that its greatest enemy is the state and the big corporations. There may not be huge revolutions in the sense of civil wars and acts of radical violence anymore, but you can still see revolts from the public and small parties. These can be through the media, with the media or even against the media. One recent example of this would be the student protests against the British government concerning the rise in University Fees. Although the protests would naturally have impact on the general public, the media coverage allowed the issue to gain more support for the protesters and outrage at the protested. This would be particularly seen through working class, and a large portion of middle class, families as it would severely hinder the prospects of their children getting higher education due to potentially-increasing financial difficulties.

Michael Bailey

Student No. 105513331

Another example would be the recent complaints to the BBC about the controversial storyline in the long-running drama Eastenders which saw one of the characters swapping her son for another couples newborn after losing hers to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). As stated on an online BBC news article, Since the storyline was announced, 5,826 viewers have complained to the BBC about the New Year's storyline, which saw Ronnie take Kat's baby.iii As a side note, another flaw with the views of Liberalism can be seen from this news report. Liberalists would argue that the BBC should be independent and should therefore be a source of informative freedom. However, the article, which is off the BBC News website, is having to stay unbiased about a story that potentially creates negative feedback on the corporation it is run by; surely this cant be what the Liberalists call freedom? Although there are flaws in the Liberal approach to the media, there are also numerous views that can justify a Liberalists beliefs. Some Liberal theorists argue that the Media has much greater power over the people compared to that of the state. James Curran and Jean Seaton explain that Some Liberal theorists view the market as an analogue of the electoral process. They claim that newspapers submit themselves to public judgement every time they go on sale, whereas politicians stand for election at infrequent intervals. Consequently newspapers are closer to the people than are their elected representatives.iv A key element that can define a Liberalist is their opposition to Pre-release censorship. The early to mid-20th century saw strict censorship through the American media industry, particularly in the television industry which, in some cases, didnt even reach the stage of broadcasting. This was commonly occurring during and being blamed on the early years of the Cold War. Thomas Doherty stated Passed during the populist-minded New Deal, the Federal Communications Act of 1934 loftily decreed that the electromagnetic real estate should be utilized for the public interest, convenience, and necessity. Like most American property, however, it was exploited to make as much money as humanly possible.v All the ideals that Liberalism stood for were being crushed due to the efforts that the television corporations, such as NBC and CBS, were taking to conform to the strict guidelines of what the American government deemed as acceptable. This country had always been viewed by the world as a liberalistic paradise, a land of freedom, and yet it was far from liberalistic. With what the near-fascist state claimed as controversies erupting so constantly, it could be said that the American media industry had lost all sense of Liberty. It would be many years before the industry regained its liberation.

Michael Bailey

Student No. 105513331

But whilst the media industry was being greatly restricted back then, the new media has seen an immense flourish in the amount of independently produced content and information. This corresponds with the liberalistic idea of freedom of the individual. Robert McChesney, a notable American professor, commented on the matter saying The new media has dramatically changed the nature of all communication in society, not just journalism. No longer do the vast majority of people have to be merely recipients, on the receiving end, of information produced and transmitted by a very small number of opinion makers.vi Admittedly, McChesney does go on to point out the flaw with this ideal when he states The problem with the argument that peoples use of new media technologies, personalized blogs and YouTube posts will solve the crisis faced by journalism is that it makes it seem as though we dont have to worry about the end of journalism as we know it. The fact is that journalism is not just done by volunteers, during their spare-time. Will blogging and YouTube produce anything near satisfactory journalism?vii The Marxist outlook on media is far more negative compared to that of the Liberal outlook. One of the core beliefs of a Marxist is that the media industry is simply a capitalist business. The class which has the means of material production at its disposal has control at the same time over the means of mental production, so that thereby, generally speaking, the ideas of those who lack the means of mental production are subject to it.viii These were the famous words of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels which have erected the viewpoint that the media are capitalist. Whilst Liberalists claim that the media industry is a source of freedom, Marxists argue that the integrity of the media corporations fall short due to their desire for nothing more than financial profit. As the technological world has advanced over the past few decades, new forms of media have been born. The most obvious and significant medium is, of course, the internet. Since its conception, there have been countless debates, particularly between Liberalists and Marxists, as to whether the internet is a technology of freedom or a digital capitalized land. Although you can initially see a lot of freedom as you browse across the internet, the saddening reality is that sites of supposed liberty, such as YouTube and Facebook, are being dragged into the world of Capitalism through commercialization. The large independent sites have to rely on advertisements to support themselves. If not, fees would have to be enforced to provide financial sustainment. For a Marxist, the idea of capitalizing the internet would be deemed acceptable, or even desirable. This is simply because by doing so, although youre liberties and privileges are being limited, you are establishing a stable and supervised online environment. Marxists highlight the importance of social groups in relation to the media. Whilst they argue that the media industry should work more closely with the state, they recognise that the public are vital to any business. The printing press is separated into categories based on their target audience which are essentially just different social groups. Whilst tabloid newspapers are obviously targeting the working class, broadsheets are segregating this group and focus on the upper class, whether this be intentional or not. This could be with the intention of giving the consumer what they what. The broadsheets provide facts and intellectual articles whereas the tabloids provide its audience with what they supposedly want: juicy stories, gossip and entertainment. Marxists can see that this plan can go too far very easily which is why they feel they can justify a better friendship between the media and the capitalist system. James Curran and Jean Seaton explain through examples that This tabloid approach led to ever more inventive ways of arousing indignation. Thus, in mid-2003,

Michael Bailey

Student No. 105513331

the British public read a succession of stories about asylum seekers doing objectionable things: for example, killing swans (Sun, 4 July 2003), a few days later poaching fish (Now They Are Eating Our Fish!, Sun, 7 July 2003), and eating donkeys (Daily Star, 31 August 2003).ix Curran and Seaton continue on to provide another example in which an unproven connection had been made between the MMR triple vaccine and the onset of Autism and was reported to the public leading to radical decrease in children being vaccinated. Because of the printing press unhindered and barelyquestioned articles, Britain saw the percentage of measles cases increase by over a third in less than a decade. It is no wonder that Marxists dismiss the Liberalists ideals of an independent media industry with constant fear mongering and rumor spreading, particularly from the printing press and internet, leading to mass caution and distrust. It can certainly be argued that the media industry and government occasionally support each other. For the BBC, it is only natural as its annual fees set by the British government. This can be shown through some of its programming, such as hosting the Electoral Debates and Question Time. The later is a great example of the media and state working together. If anything, Question Time can be viewed as the medias middle man between the government and the public. The audience, made up of the general populace, is given the opportunity to express their opinions and queries in the form of questions directed at four panelists, usually a member from each of the three main parties and another public figure (e.g. religious figure, columnist etc.). Of course, Marxists would view such shows as evidence that the media can work side-by-side with the state. However, I believe that whilst the media can work with state, it can also work against it. Many controversies concerning members of the government have come about through the media. A prime example of this was during the 2010 Election campaigns when Gordon Brown, not realising that he was still wearing a Sky News microphone, was recorded briefly speaking to his communications director about a woman he had previously been speaking to in which he described her as a bigoted womanx If anything, I can see multiple examples of the media, rather than working with it, mocking the state. Key examples are the satirical television show Spitting Image, which featured puppet caricatures of celebrities but especially political figures, and the printing press exaggerated drawn re-enactments and four-panel jibes at current political events. The television industry even goes as far as to create panel game shows focused on recent events in the news. Two notable BBC shows that do this are Mock the Week and Have I Got News For You, the latter of which has featured numerous political members, one of the more reoccurring being Boris Johnson. Bizarrely, his appearances were so popular amongst the viewers, me included, that he was nominated for a BAFTA Television Award in 2003. It could easily be speculated that his rise to the status of Mayor of London was due to the popularity he gained through the media. If I had to make a brief summarization of which out of the Liberal and Marxist approaches to media I found to be more persuasive itd have to be the Liberal approach. Both opinions have numerous flaws and negatives yet I feel the views of the Liberalists are closer to the way in which the media industry must shape itself. I believe that the mediums should evolve and move in a direction that leads to a far greater and much freer society; one in which the public, or even the individual, may create and nurture new forms of media as well as supporting and producing for the current media forms.

Michael Bailey

Student No. 105513331

J.Curran & J.Seaton, Power Without Responsibility (7 Edition), Routledge 2010, p.351 th J.Curran & J.Seaton, Power Without Responsibility (7 Edition), Routledge 2010, p.6 iii Samantha Womack to leave EastEnders, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12126454, 6th January 2011 iv th J.Curran & J.Seaton, Power Without Responsibility (7 Edition), Routledge 2010, p.326 v T.Doherty, Cold War, Cool Medium Television, McCarthyism, and American Culture, Columbia University Press 2003, p.60 vi st Media Capitalism, the State and 21 Century Media Democracy Struggles th http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/246.php, 9 August 2009 vii st Media Capitalism, the State and 21 Century Media Democracy Struggles th http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/246.php, 9 August 2009 viii K.Marx & F.Engels, The German Ideology, Progress Publishers 1964, p.92 ix th J.Curran & J.Seaton, Power Without Responsibility (7 Edition), Routledge 2010, p.96 x Profile of Gillian Duffy, the voter PM called 'bigoted', th http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8649476.stm, 28 April 2010
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